Haley's Labyrinth
by Flying Dragonite
Summary: A 15 year old girl named Haley lives in constant fear of her step-father. He abuses her and one night she cries out for help, and who do you think answers her? Everyone's fav. Goblin King, Jareth! This is officially abandoned, sorry.
1. Chapter 1

**Haley's Labyrinth**

**Author's note: Hello readers! This is my second fan fiction, though I am not finished with my other one yet. This fan fiction just kind of made itself. It's an idea I've had since I first watched the movie, and now I know about this site, I wanted to actually write it down and see what you peoples think! Disclaimer: I do not own Labyrinth or Jareth… sadly.**

Chapter 1: The Wish

I sighed as I set down the book that I had just finished reading for the umpteenth time. I looked around my room and sighed again. I was so _bored_. There was nothing to do in my room except to read books I had already read a hundred times. I was so sick of my life. I was a 15 year old girl named Haley, and I had an abusive father and an oblivious mother. My life at school was no better. At all the schools I had gone to, I was never accepted, always the odd one out, the _weirdo_. I didn't think like my peers, didn't act like them, and hated nearly every one of them for their self-centered attitudes. I was always teased and called queer, crazy, weird, and much more. I hated my life.

That's why I read books; it was my way of escaping reality. I know it is better to face your problems head-on than hiding from them, but I just didn't know how to deal with my problems. I sighed again, and returned the book, Warriors: Omen of the Stars: Fading Echoes, onto my bookshelf, and plucked a random book from the shelf and brought it to my bed. As I sat down on my bed again, I looked at the book I had picked out, and saw it was the third book of The Chronicles of Ancient Darkness series, Soul Eater, and I opened it and started reading until, five minutes later, I frowned impatiently, and threw the book back at the shelf, where it fell to the ground.

I looked over at my clock. It was only 6:30, and I didn't want to go to sleep so early, I would wake up earlier. Then I reflected further. I would wake up early regardless, and I may as well take the chance for more sleep while I could, and so I dressed into my pajamas and tried to fall asleep. As always, sleep did not come easily, but eventually I drifted off.

I woke up the next morning quite suddenly, having been thrown against the wall by my dad. I looked up at my dad's enraged face. His eyes were tinged with red and a little bit of brown encircling his blue irises, evidence that he had had another sleepless night filled with the booze he was so fond of. I scrambled to my feet before he could hit me again, and he shouted,

"No sleeping when there is work to be done! Not on my watch!" I nodded, keeping my face down, hiding the tears that welled up in my eyes. They weren't tears of shock or anger, I was used to the way my dad treated me, they were tears of pain. This was one of the most painful ways of waking up. It didn't happen often, usually he just shouted at me until I woke up, but when he drank too much, my dad was worse than ever. He stormed out of my room so I could change into work clothes, a pair of jeans and a white T-shirt. The minute I came out of my room and plodded down the stairs, he threw my ragged shoes at my face, and drug me out the back door the second I had shoved them on. He threw me to the ground and shoved gloves and a plastic bag in my arms.

"Pull the weeds and don't come in the house for anything until they are all gone!" he raged, and the minute I nodded, he went into the house and locked the door after him, while I looked around me in hopelessness. The weeds hadn't been pulled in forever, and they were _everywhere_. It would take me hours, I wouldn't get breakfast, and if I wasn't done before lunch, I would miss that as well. So I sighed and set to work.

The sun was high in the sky before anyone checked on me. I was startled to hear the door opening, and whipped around, but it was only my mom. She smiled at me, and said happily,

"It's great that your such a hard and determined worker. Your dad told me you got up early and started to weed. Boy am I glad I didn't have to do that. I'm a little tired today."

I muttered to myself, "it's not like I had much choice in the matter," but smiled back at my mom and replied to her, "I'm always glad to help out. Besides," I added, eyeing her slightly rounded belly, the only sign she was pregnant, "I'll have to do a lot more work once the little girl is born." My mom flushed with pleasure, and said proudly,

"I'm glad I can count on you Haley." She held out a bottle of water. "I thought that you might want this. Dad said that you were up since dawn, so I bet your thirsty." I accepted the water gratefully, and downed it in one breath. My mom smiled again, and said,

"I thought so. Thanks again Haley." I nodded at her. I didn't blame her for being so oblivious. In fact, the more oblivious she was to the abuse, the safer she was. My dad always acted better around her, and I knew that they loved each other. I was just the mistake my mother never meant to make, and I knew I was unwanted by my step father.

Now there was a child that would draw them closer than ever, and I won't pretend that I wasn't already jealous of the little girl that was yet to be born. She would always have a better life than me, I knew my step father enough to know that he just hated me, and the feeling was mutual. I knew that he would treat his own child a lot better than he ever did me.

I was silently plotting to get out of his trap. I wanted to escape. Really escape, not just imagine myself away. I just didn't know what to do. Or where to go. I finally finished pulling the weeds, but I missed lunch, so I went into my room and took a shower, grumbling to myself about how unfair my life was. But nothing was grumbling more than my stomach, which seemed to think that my throat had been cut out. I tried to ignore the complaints of my stomach as I lay on my bed, tears silently flowing down my face.

I woke up with a jolt a while later, and I looked over at my clock to see that it was only 3 o'clock, and I felt a rush of relief. I hadn't missed dinner. But my stomach was hurting worse than ever, and I was so sick of my dad's ridiculous rules. I looked over to my bedside table, thinking of continuing the blanket that I had started crocheting, and jumped in surprise. There on my bedside table was a peach. I looked around, wondering if this was a joke of my dad's. Or an excuse to ground me more. When I didn't sense anything out of the ordinary, I went over to the window, and saw that my dad's car was gone. Relief flooded through me. If my dad was gone, I could eat this peach and have my hunger sated for a while. I was confused as to how the peach had appeared on my table, but I was too hungry to care.

I ate it quickly, hiding the pit in a Kleenex from the box on my headboard, and threw it in the trash. I felt a little better after eating the peach, and I grabbed one of the newer books on my bookshelf, and sat down on my bed again. I looked over at my clock casually to see what time it was, and to my utter surprise, it was still at 3 o'clock! I stared at it, then decided that it had broken, and resolved to tell my mom at dinner so that my parents would get me a new one, and lost myself in Voices of Dragons.

Later that evening, my mom called me down for dinner. I helped set the table, but tripped and spilled milk everywhere. My dad stared at me for a minute with narrowed eyes. Then he shouted,

"Well don't just stand there! Clean it up! For that, you will go without dinner!" My eyes widened in disbelief.

"Please, no! I haven't had anything to eat all day!" I cried. My mom looked at me curiously.

"Didn't you have breakfast?" she asked me. I swallowed at the murderous look my dad flashed at me.

"No I didn't, I don't like breakfast." I replied, my mouth dry.

"Well then you can't complain that you had nothing to eat then. If you turn down good food, then you'll go without!" My dad had turned the situation to his advantage again. "Now do as I say or your grounded for longer!" he shouted. I hurried and cleaned up the mess. I ran up to my room where I cried until I had no tears left. Then I heard the front door slam, and I heard my mom and dad talking outside, then a key scraped in the lock, and my parents left in my dad's car. I rejoiced, and I was about to sneak downstairs when I noticed that the alarm was turned to away, and I cursed my dad very loudly.

"UGH! Why must you do this to me?" I raged, storming to my room where I continued my rant. "You're the worst dad ever! God why did you do this to me? What did I do to deserve him?" I screamed to the world, "PLEASE, someone take me away from this awful place!" Thunder rumbled suddenly from outside, and I saw a flash of lightning before a blinding light filled my room.

When the light cleared, there was a man standing in my room. He wore tight black pants, a sparkly navy blue shirt that clung to his chest, and a black cape with a large collar that surrounded his neck. He wore makeup that made his eyebrows seem turned up, and his hair was wild, tussled in every direction, and he had brilliant blue eyes, a depth and power to them I couldn't quite place.

I gasped, I couldn't help myself. "Wh-who a-are y-you?" I stuttered. The man laughed, a low chuckle.

"I am Jareth, the Goblin King, Ruler of the Labyrinth." He replied. I was confused.

"…But why are you here?" I asked.

"You asked for me to come." He said amusedly, his eyes still sparkling with that strange power.

"I- I didn't ask you to come" I responded, still confused. Jareth, the Goblin King, whatever he wanted to call himself, laughed again.

"Yes you did. You asked for someone to take you away from here. Is that what you truly want? It seemed like it, or I never would have appeared." He said, suddenly serious. I froze. He wanted to take me away from here?

"But where-" I started to ask, but he cut me off.

"To the Underground, to my Labyrinth, to the Goblin City…" he trailed off, watching me.

Several emotions were warring within me. Relief was the strongest of all. Finally, if I just said the words, I would no longer have to suffer at my dad's hands anymore. There was sadness, sadness for my mom, who I loved and I knew she loved me. There was also confusion. Why would someone as powerful as him listen to some random teenage girl's rants? To prolong the answer I knew I would have to give, I asked him, "But why? Why would you listen to me? I'm just a girl…"

Jareth's eyes flashed with that strange power yet again. "You are not just a girl." He snapped at me, and I stared at him, taken aback by his fierce defense of me against myself. His expression softened as he looked at my confused, frightened face. He sighed.

"This is much harder than I thought it would be…" I heard him mutter to himself. Then he turned to me again. "I will explain when we are away from here. There is not much time left. I tire from holding time still too long, and your parents are due back at any time. If they were to come here while I was here, I would be forced back to the Labyrinth, never to come here again. You must make your choice." I stared at the ground, my eyes filled with unshed tears.

"I- I want to come, but…" I choked out.

"But what, Haley? What is there here for you?" Jareth asked softly.

"Well, what about my family? The one's who do care for me? They'll miss me, and probably be panicked, not knowing where I am! I can't do that to them, no matter what I'm going through at my dad's hands." I replied. Incredibly, Jareth smiled.

"If that is all, there's nothing you need to worry about! Do you really think I am so cruel as to let your family suffer from your absence? No, when I take someone, I erase all memories of them from the people up here, Aboveground." He reassured me. My eyes widened.

"My parents, all my family… they would have no memories of me?" I asked. Jareth nodded. I felt immensely relieved. Now I could leave this place and never look back, never have to worry about my family missing me, never have to think about what-ifs!

"But what would I do in your… Labyrinth?" I asked but Jareth shook his head.

"I promise I will explain it all later, but you have to make your choice. Say the words out loud so that we can leave." He said urgently. I took a deep breath and stated calmly,

"I would be honored to come with you and leave this place." Jareth smiled, and I heard, somewhere in the distance, a bell tolling.

"That's our cue to leave," said Jareth, and he offered me his hand. I took it, and, in a rush of color and sound, we were standing at a balcony overlooking a huge, sprawling maze. I knew that this maze had to be the 'Labyrinth' that Jareth had been talking about. Jareth removed his hand from mine, and turned to me saying, "I'll bet you have a ton of questions. But you must be hungry. We can talk over dinner." He led me over to a door, and we walked through.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's note: No, Jareth is ****NOT**** in love with me, and though I think David Bowie is cute and very beautiful, I do not love Jareth in this fan fiction! Disclaimer: I do not own Labyrinth or anything.**

Chapter 2: Questions and Answers

Jareth led me through many winding passages. Sometimes we would reach a dead end, but Jareth would command it to reveal the true passage, and usually the wall blocking our way would just melt away. Other times, a different passage would open up near the dead end. I was amazed at how maze-like his castle was, but I guessed that it had to do with living in the center of a maze. I was thinking about Jareth as we walked. He had called himself the Goblin King, and that he was Ruler of the Labyrinth.

These words brought to my mind an old legend, a legend that spoke about a Goblin King that lived in his castle beyond the Goblin City in the middle of a Labyrinth. This Goblin King took children that people wished away. But I had never come across a story in which the Goblin King took someone who wished _them self_ away. I was mulling this over in my head when Jareth stopped in front of a large door that spread to the ceiling. He pushed the doors open, and I gasped.

The room I was now standing in was _enormous_. A long table dominated the room, with chairs around it, silverware in front of each chair. There was a huge chandelier made of what looked like diamonds hanging from the ceiling, lighting up the room with a soft light. Jareth spoke from behind me, causing me to jump a little.

"Do you like it? I changed it a little bit to make it more welcoming." I turned to him incredulously.

"You changed it for me? But why would you do that for me? I'm just a girl!" I exclaimed. Jareth shook his head.

"You really don't see yourself very clearly do you? As I said before, you are much, much more than _just a girl_." He replied, sounding as if he was torn between amusement and exasperation. I rolled my eyes behind his back as he led me to a chair to the right of the head of the table. He sat down at the head, and snapped his fingers. Magically, food appeared on the gleaming plates. I stared wide-eyed at him. Jareth smiled.

"Why are you surprised? Haven't I already shown you some of my powers?" He asked.

"I'm just waiting to see when I'll wake up." I replied.

"This is not a dream; it's all real." Jareth said. I shook my head disbelievingly, but I put my disbelief aside to ask some questions.

"I think I know who you are. You're the Goblin King that takes the unwanted children, the ones that were wished away, aren't you?" I asked. Jareth nodded.

"But then why did you take me?" I asked, my eyebrows furling in confusion. "I thought you took kids that were wished away. I wasn't wished away. Who am I that you would grant my wish?" Jareth sighed.

"It's a long story. But first, I want you to eat something. I know you haven't had anything to eat all day besides my peach." He said firmly. I looked at him incredulously.

"That was _your_ peach? You left that on my bedside table?… Oh! That's why my alarm clock wasn't working!" I exclaimed. Jareth nodded.

"That's right. Now are you going to start eating? I won't answer your questions until I know that you've got some food in you." I looked at the food spread across the table. I didn't recognize a lot of the food, but I saw peaches (of course), steaks, some sort of pasta covered in a red sauce, crepes, and a fruit salad. I glanced over at Jareth. His arms were crossed over his chest, not touching anything, just watching me.

"Aren't you going to eat anything?" I asked him. He shook his head.

"I've eaten already today. Go ahead, you eat, and I'll talk." he answered, gesturing towards the food. Still watching him out of the corner of my eye, convinced that this was a dream, waiting for him to disappear suddenly, I put some of the fruit salad on my plate, as well as some of the pasta. I took a bite of the fruit salad, and I was pleasantly surprised at the burst of flavors. There were grapes, strawberries, apples, and some fruit I couldn't identify, that looked like a blue nectarine. The burst of flavors didn't clash like I expected them to, but blended in a sweet flavor. Jareth smiled when he saw me eating, and he started his story.

"What do you want to know first?" He asked. I swallowed, and asked,

"Who exactly are you?"

"I am not the Goblin King that human myths talk about. That Goblin King was my father, and his father before him, etc. By the time I took over my father's place, my family's story had faded into obscurity. Very few know our story, and even fewer believe. There is not many that wish their children away now. Usually when they do, they don't use the right words, so I can't take them." Jareth replied matter-of-factly. I gaped at him. He was talking about stealing children with no remorse whatsoever!

"But how can you do that? That's… monstrous!" I exclaimed. To my surprise, he laughed.

"Was it monstrous to take you away from your abusive father?" He asked. "You don't understand, my family only takes children who are unwanted. Is it so much a bad thing that we take unwanted children from a relationship that might destroy the child? Besides, those who wish the child away have a chance to get them back if they are so inclined. All they have to do is challenge us and get through the Labyrinth. Not that many could get through the Labyrinth, but at least they had the chance. I gave you a chance to take back what you wished, remember?"

I stared at Jareth, unsure. It didn't sound bad when he put it that way. I mean, how many kids turn out as drug addicts, smokers, gang members, all because their parents just never wanted them. If Jareth and his descendants prevented that from happening… then they weren't bad, were they? I was confused. It made sense in some ways, but in others it didn't. If hardly anybody knew the words anymore, then how was it helping anyone? But then, what was Jareth supposed to do, go up to people's doors and tell them that he would take unwanted children away if they said the right words? People would think he's crazy and police would lock him up, or _try_ to, anyways, just in case he was telling the truth.

"I guess you're right." I replied. "But why me? I didn't wish anybody else away, I wished myself away. I didn't even say the words 'I wish.' It doesn't make sense to me. Why me?" I asked again. I was beginning to think that Jareth might… that he might _like_ me! I was kind of freaked out by that concept, I was way too young, and for all I knew, he could be a hundred years old! Jareth paused.

"It's… complicated" He finally said, and fell silent once more.

"I think I can keep up," I insisted, "Besides, you said you would explain everything." I was distinctly aware that, because he was a King and that I was in his kingdom, which meant I had no right to expect _anything_ from him, but I wasn't going to back down easily. Jareth sighed once more before beginning his story.

"You and I… we are brother and sister." He stated flatly, watching me warily out of the corner of his eye. I had frozen. Disbelief was coursing through me. Me, sister to the _GOBLIN KING_?

"We're half-brother and sister, of course, you are half mortal," Jareth continued after a few moments of silence. "After my mother died, about 50 years ago, my father separated himself from the rest of the family, me and my other brothers and sisters. About 20 years ago, on a mission to take a child, he fell for a mortal girl that had wished her brother away. She conquered the Labyrinth, and returned to Aboveground, and forgot about her adventure, thinking it to be a pretty dream. But my father did not, could not, forget her. Five years later, after retiring his position of Goblin King to me, his eldest child, he traveled Aboveground and pursued that mortal girl as a human." Jareth stopped speaking, looking at my surprised face.

"That mortal girl… she was my mother, wasn't she?" I asked. Jareth nodded, sadness passing over his face.

"My father, our father, was horrified when he realized that he had gotten your mom pregnant. He had never meant to have a child with a mortal, but… as a human, we experience life differently. Humans are more ruled by emotions and desires than my kind is. He knew that he had condemned you to a life of being shunned. The offspring of immortals and mortals are different. It is my understanding that you always stood out, and you had no friends." Jareth said gently. I stared at him, realization flooding through my mind. It all made sense now. I _was_ different, I had always known it.

"Yeah, I always knew I was different." I replied. Jareth looked at me sadly.

"You were born with certain gifts. They are blessings, but I know that they can cause you a lot of grief sometimes. Anyways, when my father realized what he had brought to you and your mother, he proposed to your mom, hoping that she would accept and he would be able to take both of you here, in the Underground, where you would be accepted, and be able to use your powers, instead of not knowing about them. But your mom turned him down. She hadn't really loved him. So when your step-father offered to adopt you, my father let him, hoping that you would have a chance at a normal life, or as normal as you could. My father died of grief a few years later, and-" I broke him off.

"I thought you said that you were immortal." Jareth looked uncomfortable, almost ashamed.

"Well, we are. But we can fall in battle, and we can die of a broken heart. If we lose the will to keep living, especially one as old as my father, there is nothing to be done." I nodded. "Like I was saying, my father died of grief, and you were left in the care of your step-father. All of us, my brothers and sisters, knew what had happened. No one else cared about you; they were all too ashamed at my father for falling in love with a mortal and failing to bring her here, like he had done with my mother. She was also a mortal that defeated the Labyrinth, and she accepted my father, and became one of us. She died in a siege against the kingdom." He added, guessing my question.

"But I cared about you, mostly because I felt that _someone_ had to look after you, to protect you. I knew that I couldn't interfere much with your life, because one, I have little power over mortals, and two, most of my powers that can be used over mortals have to be used with permission of a mortal. Until you asked for help, I couldn't do much. But I digress. When I checked up on you, right after my father died, I was horrified and furious when I saw what your step-father was doing to you. But like I said, there was not much I could do. I prevented some of his worse rages. I would hide you in a gap in time until he calmed down, and neither of you knew what was happening. I was the one who would leave you little presents. I sometimes prodded your mom into doing little things without realizing she was doing exactly what you needed. I sent James your way, knowing he would someday save your life. How little did I realize that my insight was needed. I was angry beyond belief when he betrayed you, but you solved it, and continued to get support from him and his family. I am ashamed to admit that I was surprised at your wisdom in dealing with him. I underestimated you. I wish I could have helped you more, but you are too independent for your own good. You didn't want to admit that you wanted, needed help, even to yourself." Jareth broke off suddenly, staring at me as tears flooded down my face. His eyebrows furrowed in worry.

"Did I upset you? I'm sorry!" he exclaimed, and I shook my head.

"No, you didn't upset me. I am just touched about how much you cared, how much you did for me, when I was so convinced that the entire world was against me, and that nobody cared about me!" I cried, and next thing I knew, he was holding me in a big hug. I hugged him back, crying in his arms.

**Author's note: Well, that certainly was NOT what you guys were expecting, was it? Lol. Me, half-sister to the Goblin King? We'll see how **_**that**_** goes! Muah-Hahaha. There goes my evil laugh!**

**Dusknoir: You are so weird Haley.**

**Me: Yeah, I know.**

**Grovyle: Both of you are weird!**

**Me & Dusknoir: Shut up, Grovyle!**

**Me again: Sorry about that. Anyways, I do not own anything to do with the Labyrinth or David Bowie or Jareth. Awww man, If I really ran the Labyrinth, Jareth wouldn't know what to do, or what hit him, lol. I am crazy, just so all of you know. Don't worry if you don't get who Dusknoir and Grovyle are. They are just characters from my other fan fiction, ****Pokémon, the Paralyzed Planet.**** Hahahahahahaha! Ok, Flying Dragonite *poof*!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's note: Yay! I love writing this fan fiction! I think I'm actually going to finish this one; I've just put so much work and research into it! So I just HAVE to finish it now! Disclaimer: I don't own Labyrinth or anything… sadly.**

Chapter 3: New life?

When I woke up, I didn't open my eyes, but explored my surroundings with my other senses, and I realized that I was lying in a bed. Damn, it had only been a dream, just as I feared. I sighed, still not opening my eyes, wishing that I could go back to dreaming the sweetest dream I had ever had. I was still in bed, my eyes yet to open, when I heard the opening of a door. Shoot, my dad would kill me for being in bed. A high, squeaky voice interrupted my inner scolding.

"Excuse me, Lady Haley, but His Majesty Jareth asks for your presence. I think he wants you to eat breakfast with him." My eyes flew open. I was lying in a canopy bed, in a beautiful circular room. There was a little humanoid figure standing near my bed. I squinted; confused as to why I couldn't see very well, when I realized that my glasses were off my face.

"My glasses! Can you help me look for them?" I asked the figure standing at my bedside.

"Glasses? You mean this thing?" The figure held out something, and I took it, grateful that the thing the figure had handed me was my glasses. I put them on, and looked over at the figure that had helped me, and jumped in shock. Standing at my bedside was a _goblin_! A real life goblin! The goblin looked taken aback at my sudden start.

"Is Lady Haley alright?" She asked. (I had decided it was a girl, she had a high voice and long hair) I was too mesmerized by her appearance to say anything for a moment. She had a maid's dress on, and had a humanoid figure and face, but everything else was completely… different. Her hands were thick and knobby, not dirty, but they were working hands. I mean to say that they were covered in calluses, not unlike a construction worker's hands would be like. Her arms were normally shaped, if a bit short, but then, her whole stature was short. I didn't know how Jareth could be so tall if all his subjects were this short, but maybe just this maid was short. Her legs were skinny and unremarkable, and she wore shoes that looked like they were made of deer-hide. I swallowed, realizing that I hadn't said anything since seeing her, and I spoke, trying to cover my nervousness.

"Umm… I… wait; did you say Jareth wanted me?" I finally stammered. The goblin looked immensely relieved, and nodded.

"You wardrobe has plenty of clothes, and I will head you to the Great Hall when you're ready. Unless you would like some help dressing?" She added politely. I shook my head, trying to hide the shudder that went through me at the thought of this creature in my room as I was dressing. Then I thought of Jareth, watching me all of my life, and I shivered uncomfortably, then I shook off the thought. Jareth wouldn't take advantage of me in that way, and besides, we were brother and sister. The goblin had left the room, and I crossed over to my wardrobe.

I opened it and gasped. There were the most beautiful dresses I had ever seen lining it. None of them were the low-cut collars that I loathed, the kind that showed way too much of my boobs in my opinion, and for that I was thankful. Jareth must have noticed my dislike of those kinds of dresses, or the wardrobe itself knew what I didn't like. I looked into the wardrobe past the dresses, hoping to find something more… causal, or _human_, but I couldn't find anything, so I pulled out a sky-blue dress and put it on. The flowing gown covered my feet completely, and fit comfortably around my neck, showing nothing, to my immense relief.

I walked out of the room, and the goblin led me through many passages until we were outside the huge doors that led into the dining hall where Jareth and I had eaten last night. I turned to the goblin beside me.

"Thank you for your help." I thanked her. She blushed and replied happily,

"Anything I can do for you, Lady Haley!" She hurried away to a side door along the hall. I sighed before opening one of the big doors and walking inside the dining hall, where Jareth was waiting at the same chair at the end of the table, playing with a crystal. When I entered the room, he looked up, the crystal disappeared, and he gestured for me to sit next to him.

I crossed the hall and sat down at the chair he had gestured at. I was embarrassed. I had cried in this man's arms last night, and I barely knew him.

"I'm sorry about last night. I-" Jareth broke me off.

"Do not be sorry. I see no reason for you to be ashamed of showing your feelings. You had every right to be emotional last night. I took you from all you've ever known, and explained the painful history of my- no our family in the same night. Maybe I should have waited, but the longer I prolonged it, the more hurt you would be." He said.

"I told you, I wasn't sad or upset, I was grateful, I was happy! Someone actually cared for me all those years." I replied. He shook his head but didn't argue. Instead, he gestured towards the food in front of us.

"Why don't you eat something? We can discuss things after breakfast." Unlike last night, he took food as well, and I felt more comfortable eating when he was as well. I had a plate of crepes smothered in powdered sugar and chocolate syrup. They were just as good as the fruit salad last night, and I was completely satisfied. I wasn't used to having breakfast, usually leaving for the bus stop (and my boyfriend's house) too early to make a lot of noise, and having my dad make me start working the minute I got up every other day, so this breakfast was particularly satisfying.

It was the biggest proof that I was finally away from that abusive guy. I wanted him to suffer the way I had suffered, but I knew that I couldn't do anything to him, nor would I if I had the power, for I knew, deep down, that I was a coward. I knew that even if I had the power, and if he were here, I would just cower before him like I had done all my life. I tried to shake those thoughts from my head. It was over, I didn't need to worry about it now, and I didn't have to ever even think about him anymore.

I finished eating, and I sat comfortably as Jareth finished. When he stopped eating, I asked him hesitantly,

"What did you want to talk about?" Jareth seemed to smile at my nervousness.

"What do you think I should do with you? I've taken you away from your step-father, but what did you have in mind once you escaped him?" He asked, not unkindly. I stared at him, unable to think of an answer. Come to think, I had never thought I would escape from my father; I didn't really have any plans. Besides, I had never once factored in an equation in which a Goblin King would take me away to an underground city. I had no idea what to do. I was intrigued by the Labyrinth for some strange reason. It seemed to pull me, wanting me to come to it. I shook myself impatiently. This was no time to entertain silly notions.

"I don't know what to do. I never thought that I would actually get away, and now that I have I don't know what to do. It doesn't exactly help that I find myself in a strange place with no idea of how this place works." I answered finally. Jareth looked like he was about to answer when he suddenly jerked his head around, staring into the air in the opposite direction, as though listening to something.

"I've been called!" Disbelief colored his voice. "It's been so long!" I frowned for a minute, and then understanding flooded through me.

"You mean someone has wished away a child?" I asked incredulously. Jareth nodded absentmindedly, and I saw his clothes change into the mystical clothes he had greeted me in last night. He conjured a crystal ball out of the air, and I saw a girl that looked my age yelling at a young girl reflected in it before Jareth twisted it so that he could see the image himself. Then he sighed, and prepared to take off.

"Wait!" I called. He paused, looking back at me. "C-can I come?" I asked. He stared at me with a calculating look in his eyes.

"If you do, you will be invisible, and you mustn't say a word." He warned. I nodded my head, content with that. I didn't want to be left alone in the castle with no one but goblins for company. Jareth stretched out his hand to me, and I took it, anticipating the rush of color and sound that flashed past as we traveled.

When we stopped, I found myself in a small nursery. It was painted pink and purple, with pictures of a smiling family hanging from the walls. I looked around me, expecting to see Jareth, but he was nowhere to be seen. A girl who looked my age was looking around the nursery in confusion. I glanced towards the window, wondering where Jareth was. To my surprise, I saw the Eiffel Tower in the distance. I was in Paris! I had always longed to go to France and speak French, though I wasn't very good at it, I had learned that in my disastrous first year of taking it, as a freshman. I had resolved to go to all four years of French and learn it, but obviously, that wasn't going to happen now.

"Annette? Ou est-tu?" The girl called fearfully in French. I knew enough French to understand what that meant, but magically her voice echoed in my head, repeated in English. _Annette? Where are you?_ It was then that I noticed the barn owl swooping around the ceiling. I rolled my eyes. '_Jareth, always the one for dramatic entrances._' I thought sarcastically. I had only met him yesterday, but I had already figured that part of him out. He liked to show off his power, and he liked being dramatic.

The owl swooped once more around the ceiling, then came down and changed into Jareth. He was playing with a small crystal sphere the size of a baseball. He was spinning it around his fingers and it seemed to defy the laws of gravity at times. The girl shrunk back, dropping a book I had not noticed before. "Qui êtes-vous?" _Who are you? _She demanded. Jareth chuckled, and spoke in perfect French to the girl.

"Vous savez très bien qui je suis." _You know very well who I am._ The girl paled, and started speaking rapidly, so quickly I would have missed what she was saying if it hadn't been for my internal translator, or whatever it was.

"Vous êtes le Roi de Lutin, du livre! Mais je lisais juste à ma soeur! Vous basculez l'emmènent!" _You're the Goblin King, from the book! But I was just reading to my sister! You can't take her away!_ Jareth just shook his head slowly, and I could tell that he didn't believe her, but I also knew that it didn't matter whether he did or not. Rules were rules.

"Je suis désolé, mais se que l'on dit est dit. Je ne peux pas juste vous donner vous êtes la soeur en arrière, vous avez à-" _I'm sorry, but what's said is said. I can't just give you your sister back, you have to-_ But the girl broke him off.

"Je don't se soucient que je dois faire, je sais juste que de dois sauver ma soeur peu importe que. Elle doit si effrayée." _I don't care what I have to do. I just know that I have to save my sister no matter what. She must be so frightened. _At the last statement, she bit her lip, and looked away, clearly trying not to cry. I felt sorry for the poor girl. She obviously had not believed that saying the words would bring the Goblin King, and I believed her when she said that she had just been reading a story to her sister. I shivered. It seemed unfair that the one person who actually cared about their sibling had to face such a thing. '_Life isn't fair_' said a small voice sarcastically in the back of my head. '_Oh just shut up_' I told it, and returned my attention to Jareth and the girl, who was looking out her window that now showed the Labyrinth and the castle beyond it.

"Très bien. Regardez là-bas." _Very well. Look out there._ Jareth was saying as he pointed out her window, juggling three crystal balls.

"C'est le château au-delà de le Ville de Lutin, n'est-ce pas?" _That's the castle beyond the Goblin City, isn't it? _Questioned the girl. Jareth nodded.

"Vous avez treize heures dans quel résoudre le Labyrinthe avant que votre petite soeure devient un d'entre nous pour toujours." _You have 13 hours in which to solve the Labyrinth before your little sister becomes one of us forever._ The girl nodded her head, and the nursery dissolved around us, changing into a barren landscape at the top of the hill overlooking the beginning of the Labyrinth. Jareth was fading from sight, and I was left staring at the girl.

Suddenly, I was no longer staring at the older girl, but her sister, Annette, she had called her. Jareth was holding her sleeping form in his arms. We were back in his castle, in a room I hadn't yet been to, but was obviously his throne room.

"What happens if the girl doesn't make it through the Labyrinth in time? Do you really… turn the babies into goblins?" I asked hesitantly. Jareth laughed.

"When did I ever say that I turn the children I take into goblins?" He questioned, still smiling.

"Well… all the stories say so, and you told that girl that if she didn't make it through the Labyrinth, her sister would 'become one of us, forever.' Doesn't that mean… OH! You mean, like you?" Jareth smirked at the dawning comprehension on my face.

"But… what exactly are you… what am I?" I asked.

"You and I are not the same. You are what is known as a changeling. My family are Lycans (li-sans), what people in the Above call the _fairy folk_." Jareth's mouth twisted in disgust at the last words. "We, that is to say, the Lycans, hate that name. Why humans decided to call us that is beyond me. We are nothing like fairies! Fairies are nasty little buggers that will bite you as soon as look at you. I have no idea how humans got it into their heads that fairies are nice creatures that grant wishes." Jareth rolled his eyes, and turned to a passing goblin.

"Take the baby up to the nursery, and keep an eye on her. If I go up there later and you're not watching her properly, I'll send to straight to the Bog of Eternal Stench, got it?" He snapped at it, and the goblin squeaked in fear.

"O-of course, Your Majesty!" It stammered, and hurried away with Annette. I watched the exchange, wondering. I knew that Jareth had a bad side, we all do, but I didn't know he could be so cruel. He had been nice to me so far. I resolved to myself to be careful around him. I certainly had no desire to get on his bad side. Jareth watched the goblin hurry away for a few minutes with narrowed eyes, and then turned to me.

"Well, what did you think of the girl?" He asked me.

"The one who wished her sister away?" He nodded silently.

"Well, I think that she didn't mean to wish her sister away, it was just an accident. Does that affect how you treat them? The ones who run the Labyrinth?" I replied. Jareth's eyes narrowed and I saw that he had grown angry. What had I done to make him angry? But his next words revealed that he wasn't angry at me.

"For the words to work there has to be meaning behind them. The one who says the words has to mean them for me to be summoned. That girl was not just reading from the book, she really hoped that the goblins would come and take her sister away. She probably felt guilty, so she tried the Labyrinth. I have no mercy for those who wish their children away." I frowned at those words. The girl had seemed so sincere, but it sounded like she at least wanted her sister back. Then I remembered the image I had seen in the crystal, her yelling at the little girl, Annette. That didn't seem like reading a book to me. I shook my head at myself. It was none of my concern, Jareth would deal with her, and surely she would learn her lesson. But I had another question.

"If the people who run the Labyrinth fail, do they forget the baby they wished away?" Jareth shook his head.

"No, although many of them try when they get back to their world. Eventually it fades into a dream, but they never wish another child away. Not many succeed in solving the Labyrinth, let alone getting to my castle. Perhaps one out of a hundred succeed. Now that my story has all but faded into obscurity, pretty much no one is able to solve the Labyrinth. They just don't know enough, and take too much for granted. You can't take anything for granted in my Labyrinth." He replied, and changed the subject.

"Have you figured out what you want to do yet?" I remembered what he had said before about me, today and yesterday. I knew that I was called a changeling, I was Jareth's half-sister, and that I had powers that I had no idea how to use.

"Can you… will you teach me to use my powers? Can I live here with you?" I asked uncertainly, not knowing what Jareth's reaction would be. Jareth stared at me with calculating eyes.

"You would stay here, in this dull, dirty castle filled with goblins with no one intelligent around to speak with except me? When you have all of the Underground to explore and see as you please?" he asked incredulously.

"This castle isn't dull, and I think the goblins are cute, if a little… different. Why would I want to explore a place filled with dangers unknown to me anyways? All I know in this world is that you're my half-brother. What am I supposed to do with that?" I answered a little defensive. Jareth stared at me again for a while before a smile spread across his face.

"You would really want to stay here, with me?" He asked again. For some reason, he was very excited at the prospect of me staying with him here in his castle. Then I reflected. It must not be very fun, being him. Apparently he was the oldest of his siblings, and I knew that had to be hard enough in itself without him being a prince and heir to his father's kingdom. Plus, it couldn't be fun to be surrounded, like he said, by goblins who, as sweet, cute and innocent they could be, weren't very intelligent. I realized that he was a very lonely man.

"Of course I want to stay here with you. You can be very sweet when you want to be. I enjoy your company. Why wouldn't I want to stay here?" I replied. Jareth smiled, and said happily, or as happily as I had seen him, he still had an edge to his voice that was always there, always reminding that there was a person inside him that could be, and would be, cruel.

"Then I would be very happy to allow you to stay here in my castle, and I would love to teach you some of your magic. Understand that I can teach you only the basics. Your power and my power are different, so some things you will have to learn by yourself, and some of the things that I will try to teach you may be impossible for you to learn." I nodded, glad that he was happy.

"The first thing I will try to teach you is to summon crystals. My crystals come in handy. They can show me anyone I want to see, they can send messages, and much more. I don't know if you can learn how to summon them, but my whole family has been able to, so perhaps you will." He said. I was startled.

"Wait- we're starting now?" I asked.

"Certainly. Why not start now? Better now than later." He replied, and I shrugged to myself. I was starting to understand more about Jareth. He liked to show-off, he was a lonely person, and he was spontaneous and random. I wouldn't have been surprised if he just randomly burst out in song. **(Tee-hee)**

"Ok then. How do I summon a crystal?" I asked. Jareth smiled.

"It's not as easy as that. You have to first find your magic."

"…Find my magic? What do you mean?"

"You have to search for it inside yourself. It will be very hard, as it has been buried your whole life." Jareth said. "Look inside yourself. Feel for it. You will know when you have found it. It will feel warm, as if a fire has been lit inside you. You will feel the power racing through every part of your body. Tell me when you have reached it." While he had been talking, I was searching inside myself, like he had said. I tried to explore all parts of my mind, when, quite suddenly, I brushed up against a powerful feeling deep within my mind. It was warm, like Jareth had said. I pulled on it with an imaginary string, but it didn't budge. I started tugging on it and seemed to be getting nowhere when, all of a sudden, my whole body was tingling and brimming with what could only be magic.

"Very good." said Jareth beside me. I had my eyes closed, but I found I could not open them; I was so fixed on the feeling coursing through my body. I started panting. The magic inside me was bursting to get out. Now that I was aware of it, I knew that it had been waiting for a long time to burst out.

"Be careful, Haley. The first release of magic can be dangerous if not controlled. Especially for one such as old as yourself, your magic having been trapped for so long. Now, imagine, if you will, one of my crystals. You've seen me play with them, haven't you?" I nodded my head, and opened my eyes.

He was standing in front of me now, and my eyes widened. He was glowing like a miniature sun. I looked around, and to my surprise, many things were glowing. All the goblins around the room were glowing, though thankfully the walls and floor were not, I might have been blinded by the light. I realized that the glowing things had to have magic in them. I remembered the crystals he had been playing with, first this morning, while waiting for me to come to breakfast, and again in that girl's room. I closed my eyes and imagined one floating in front of me. Suddenly, some of my magic escaped, and I opened my eyes to see a perfectly formed crystal sphere the size of a baseball floating in front of me, just as I had imagined. I held out my hand, and it fell into it. The crystal was surprisingly light. I looked at it curiously. Jareth had said that his crystals could show him anyone he wanted to see. I whispered to it,

"Show me my family." The crystal went foggy, then cleared up as it showed me a gathering of my family in my parent's backyard. To my surprise, my grandma was there, laughing with my step-dad as they ate hot dogs. '_Of course, with me being gone, they have no recollection of ever fighting or anything. They only fought over me, after all._' I noticed my Uncle Robby splashing my mom in the pool with his kids and my Uncle Nathan's kid. I smiled sadly. My family was a lot better off without me. There was no fight between the two families because there were no memories of my step-dad ever mistreating me or abusing me. I watched silently for a while, trying to hold back the tears that filled my eyes.

I had always thought that all the tension between my parents and my mom's side of the family was all my fault, and here was the proof. I shook my head impatiently, and the crystal disappeared.

"Haley? Are you alright?" I jumped, startled by Jareth's voice. "Haley? What did the crystal show you that made you so upset?"

"It showed me my family. I- they're better off without me." my voice broke. I was holding back my tears, but it was only a matter of time before I lost it. Jareth stared at me, his expression unreadable.

"Are you regretting your choice?" He asked flatly. I shook my head.

"No, of course not! If anything, I realized more than anything that I made the right choice. It just hurts, knowing for sure that I _was_ the cause of all that strife in my family. Now the broken relationships are whole, and I know that I have to stay away. I ruined everything my family had going for them, and now that mistake is fixed." I replied. Jareth clenched his jaw, and I could tell that he was very angry.

"You were _not_ responsible for any of the problems in your family!" he snarled, trying to keep his voice level, but not succeeding. "If it's anyone's fault, it was your step-father's fault. He was the one who caused all of the problems by abusing you! If he hadn't abused you, there would have been no reason for any of the fights you refer to." He said, sounding frustrated by my insistence to blame myself.

"All right, I'll accept that, but my family is definitely better off without me. It doesn't even matter, I can't change my choice now even if I wanted to, could I?" I challenged him.

"…No, you couldn't." Jareth said grudgingly. "But stop blaming yourself for something that is beyond your control!" I opened my mouth to reply, but was interrupted by a goblin racing into the throne room.

"Your Majesty!" He exclaimed. Jareth continued staring at me as he replied testily.

"What is it? Whatever it is had better be important to be interrupting us now!" The goblin gulped, but continued with his message.

"The girl, the runner, is already at the Truth-teller and Liar trap!" Jareth's eyes widened.

"Not possible!" He looked over at the thirteen hour clock, and I did too. It had only been two hours. Jareth's eyes narrowed as he looked at the clock, then he summoned a crystal and looked into it. The girl was standing with her back to a dead end, facing a pair of… goblins with dog-like faces? They were standing with shields held in front of them, one of the shields was blue, and the other was red. Suddenly, two more heads appeared from under the shields. The girl was obviously confused.

Jareth snapped at the goblins in the room, "Be QUIET!" and everything went still and silent in the room. Now the only noise was the voices coming from the crystal. The goblins looked at each other for a second before fleeing the room. I watched the crystal too, wondering what the deal was with the four goblins guarding the doors. The head under the blue shield was speaking.

"No, that's the dead end behind you!" For some reason, every one of the heads thought this to be incredibly funny and started cackling with laughter as the girl spun around and widened her eyes at the dead end.

"The only way is through one of the doors! One leads to the castle, and the other leads to… certain death!" said the head under the red shield as the other one under the shield went,

"Dun Dun Duuunnn!" They all laughed again.

"_Well, which one is which_?" The girl asked, and the heads all cackled. I was still receiving the translation to what she was saying directly to my head. Apparently she could understand them somehow.

"Don't ask us. We don't know the answer!" said the two under the shields in unison.

"_Well who does know_?"

"They do!" The two under the shields pointed to the two over the shields. "But one them always tells the truth, and the other one always lies!" The heads all laughed again. I shook my head condescendingly. These goblins were really starting to get on my nerves. The French girl was obviously getting irritated again.

"That's right! He's the one who always lies!" said the head over the red shield.

"Oh, what a lie!" replied the head over the blue shield. I could tell that the girl was getting really frustrated now.

"_Ok, all of you just shut up! Let me think._" She said. After a minute or two, she walked up to the head over the blue shield and asked, "_Ok, if you were the other guard, would you tell me that this door leads to the castle?_" The guard seemed stumped for a minute. He conversed briefly with the head under him, in voices too low to hear before replying uncertainly,

"…Yes?" The girl smiled in triumph.

"_Then this one leads to certain death, and the other door leads to the castle!_" The head above the red shield protested.

"But he could be telling you the truth!" the girl shook her head

"_But then he wouldn't! So if you tell me that he said yes, I know the answer is no!_"

"But I could be telling the truth!" the same head replied.

"_Then he would be lying. So if you tell me that he said yes, the answer would still be no!_" The girl replied, smiling in triumph again. The head above the blue shield looked suddenly confused.

"Is that right?" He asked the other head on top. The head on top of the red shield shook his head and sniggered.

"I don't know, I've never understood it!" All the heads laughed again. The girl shook her head at their antics, and motioned for the red shield guards to move over. They shuffled away, and she opened the door and walked through.

"_Wow, I must be getting smarter. That was easy!_" She said to herself as the door swung shut behind her. I knew immediately that she had said the wrong thing. Jareth's eyes flashed dangerously.

"Easy, is it? How do you like this new challenge then?" He muttered angrily, and snapped his fingers. At once, a trapdoor under her opened and she fell through. The crystal disappeared. He was angry, and he shouted, "Hoggle! Come here!" A little dwarf hurried into the room.

"Y-your majesty! What do you need me to do?" He asked hurriedly, shaking in obvious fear of Jareth.

"Go to the oubliette just beyond the Truth-teller and Liar doors and lead the girl back to the beginning of the Labyrinth!" Jareth snapped. The dwarf, Hodgewort, or whatever his name was, nodded fearfully and left the room. Glancing at me, Jareth let out a sigh.

"I'm sorry, but there are some things I need to take care of. You're free to explore the castle and the grounds, but don't enter the city or the Labyrinth. The city can be dangerous to all who are unaccustomed to it, and the Labyrinth is dangerous at all times, especially when there is a runner within it. It changes quicker, and threats are bolder and more dangerous." He said to me. I nodded.

"I won't go anywhere beyond the castle, I promise. I have no wish to be devoured by some gruesome monster, thank you very much." I said dryly. Like I would want to go somewhere dangerous! Jareth rolled his eyes at me and swept from the room. I was left in the now-empty throne room, wondering what to do. I decided to go see the little girl, Annette. I went into the corridor, where a goblin wearing a maid's dress was hurrying towards me. I recognized it as the maid that had been in my room that morning. The little goblin skidded to a halt in front of me.

"His majesty says Morenna is to show you anywhere you's like to go!" She said, bowing politely.

"Morenna? Is that your name?" I asked her kindly.

"Y-yes, my lady." She said nervously. I smiled at her, trying to put her at ease.

"It's alright. I'm not going to be mean or anything. I know Jareth can be a little… harsh, but I hope we'll become great friends. There's no need to be nervous." I said to her. She gave me a little smile.

"Could you show me the nursery, please? I'd like to see the new girl." I asked her. She nodded, and led the way through the castle.

**Author's note: Finally, this chapter is finished! 15 pages! That's a personal best for me! Hahaha. I definitely have to finish this fan fiction! I put soooo much work into it! By the way, I'm not really that good at French, I have taken one class in high school so far, and I am actually planning on taking 4 years of it. I looked most of it up on the internet, but if you French-speakers out there notice any mistakes, PLEASE let me know. I will fix them if need be. Anyways, I forgot to mention the last few chapters, but please review! I would LOVE to hear your feedback, positive, negative, or just plain randomness, just please no flames.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: I hope you like this chapter. I wonder where I get some of my ideas. No, I know. My friends inspired some of the stuff in this chapter. My friend Desirae made me mad the other day, so I told her that I would make her a runner and do really bad stuff to her, but I forgave her, kind of, so I'm just naming the French girl Deseray. *winks at friend* No I just like your name! It's got nothing to do with the fact that you annoy me sometimes! *winks***

**Disclaimer: I do not own Labyrinth or Jareth…sadly. Nor do I own the song by Phil Collins, 'You'll be in My Heart.' I also do not own the passage from ****Princess Academy****.**

Chapter 4: Truth and Lies

After walking for a while, we stopped in front of a small door. I opened it and followed Morenna inside. I was amazed by what I saw. This had to be the best nursery I had ever seen. The room was very large, with one window that cast a soft light even though the sun was glaring straight through it. There were crystals hanging from the ceiling, making the light bounce around whenever they moved.

The nursery was lined on one side with beautiful cradles and cribs, and the other side was lined with simple but elegant beds. There was a lot of space between each bed/crib, and I could see an area with no beds or cribs, and as I walked farther into the room, I realized that it was filled with toys and games and books, things for the children to play with and enjoy. I thought about how much work Jareth must have put into this room, and I knew that my vision of him had been completely wrong.

I had never thought of him as a villain, per say, but I had thought that what he had been doing was monstrous and wrong. I realized now that he had gone to great lengths to make the kids' stay here as painless and as enjoyable as possible. Five of the beds were occupied, and several of the cribs were occupied as well. I walked along the beds until I saw Annette. She was still sleeping peacefully. I looked around the room again, still entranced by the beauty of the room.

"Is Lady Haley happy?" asked Morenna quietly. I looked over at her. I had forgotten for a moment that she was there.

"Yes, I'm very happy. This room is amazing. I never imagined anything like it. Did Jareth design it?" I replied softly.

"Oh, yes! His majesty spent years on this room, making it perfect! He didn't even let us peek at the room until it was finished; he kept the door locked with magic and everything!" She said excitedly, trying to remain quiet.

"Wow, he did this all by himself…" I murmured to myself. Suddenly a door opened on one side of the chamber. A goblin wearing an apron came rushing through.

"Who's awake? Don't worry, Hanna's here!" She called, but stopped when she saw me and Morenna standing in the room. "Oh! It's just you Morenna. I heard voices, and I thought… But look! A human! What are you doing here?" She asked me. Morenna gasped. She darted forward and whispered something quickly in Hanna's ear as I watched, bemused.

"Oh!" A small gasp escaped Hanna. Then, to my amazement, she curtseyed to me. "I'm sorry, I've been terribly rude, Lady Haley! Forgive me, I didn't mean to offend His Majesty's sister!" My eyebrows were in danger of disappearing; I could feel them brushing my hairline. Jareth really commanded respect from his goblins. I suspected it had to do with the threats of the Bog of Eternal Stench (whatever that was) and others that made them fear him so. I had turned away from Annette's bed and was staring around the room as Hanna crossed to the window and fiddled in front of it before backing away. Now the light was truly streaming into the room.

Some of the children were waking up. A little girl probably about 5 years old got out of her bed and stood in front of me.

"Who are you?" She demanded. Hanna looked shocked, and quickly stood in front of the little girl and scolded her.

"Rebecca! Don't be so rude! This is-" But I cut her off,

"It's all right, Hanna. My name is Haley, Rebecca. I'm Jareth's sister. How old are you?" I asked her kindly, smiling at her. Rebecca looked encouraged at my kindly manner, and she replied excitedly,

"I'm almost 6! Do you want to play marbles?" I laughed at her enthusiasm. But the other children were waking up, and I introduced myself. There was a boy named Max who was 8, another girl named Lexie, who was 5. There was still a kid who had not gotten up, but Hanna hurried over to the bed and woke up the girl there.

"Kelsy, get up! There's someone here. Get up and greet her properly!" She said, not unkindly. The girl rubbed her eyes, and got out of bed. I stared at her. She looked my age! She looked at me, and did a double take.

"Another 14 year-old?" She asked incredulously. I smiled.

"Almost. I just turned 15 in March." She looked at me sadly.

"Who wished you away?" She asked.

"Umm… no one. I wished myself away, actually." I said.

"But King Jareth doesn't take those who wish themselves away. It's not in the rules." She replied. I shook my head.

"Well, I'm kind-of Jareth's sister. I guess he could afford to break the rules in my case. His half-sister, actually." I said, answering Kelsy's questioning look.

"Oh. Well, how long have you known King Jareth?" Kelsy asked. I laughed.

"I only met him last night. Though, apparently, he's being watching me for quite a while." I said, grinning. Just then, Annette woke up behind me and promptly started screaming. I winced and turned around. She was sitting up, staring at Hanna and Morenna.

"It's alright! We won't hurt you!" I told her, remembering too late that she was French and probably couldn't understand a word I said. But she stopped screaming and asked in English,

"You won't?" I shook my head.

"Where am I?" She asked. She was probably only 3 or 4 years old.

"You were wished away by your sister. Wished away to the Underground." I told her.

"Wished away?" A confused expression crossed her face. Then the expression cleared as she said, "Oh, yeah. Deseray mad at me for drawing on her book. She said strange words. Nothing happened so I laughed at her and fell asleep. You say all of it was true?" Her voice went up an octave at the last word. I nodded sadly. Annette screwed up her face and I cringed, knowing what was coming. I heard the other kids back up behind me as if they, too, knew what was coming.

Annette started to wail. There were tears flooding down her face and she was crying as loud as she could, or so it seemed.

"Hanna go get His Majesty. He calms the new ones." said Hanna as she hurried away. I yelled at the kids over the wailing of Annette,

"What does Jareth do to calm the kids?" Kelsy answered me.

"Oh, he sings to them. He has a beautiful voice that will calm anyone!" I nodded, and turned to Annette. I wasn't sure this was going to work, but I was going to try. Who knew how long it would take for Hanna to find Jareth? Besides, I felt so wretched watching Annette cry her heart out. I started to sing, loudly at first, until Annette started to calm down, listening to me.

"Come stop your crying, it will be alright. Just take my hand, hold it tight. I will protect you from all around you, I will be there, don't you cry! 'Cause you'll be in my heart, yes you'll be in my heart. From this day on, now and forever more. I'll be with you from this day on, always." I continued with the song, a song I remembered from when I was a kid. My grandma would sing it to me whenever I was crying. It had always cheered me up.

"I'll be with you, always and always. Always!" I finished, looking down at Annette. "Don't be sad. It will be alright." She looked up at me and nodded. She sniffed, but she had stopped crying a while ago.

"I see that my services weren't needed after all." A voice behind me made me spin around. Jareth had been leaning against a wall, apparently listening to me calming Annette with my singing. Now he was walking toward me, laughing a little.

"I knew you liked to sing, but those crystals didn't convey a tenth of your voice's power. You sing beautifully." He complimented me.

"From what I've heard, so do you." I replied. He smiled.

"Umm… excuse me, but who are you?" asked Annette from behind me. Jareth turned his gaze on her.

"I am the Goblin King." He informed her. Her eyes widened.

"The Goblin King from that book?" She asked.

"That depends on the book. Which book would that be?" He asked.

"The Labyrinth." He nodded.

"I am indeed the Goblin King from that book."

"Did you really fall in love with a human girl?" She asked eagerly. Jareth laughed.

"No, that book is fictional, based on a true legend. I am real. My Labyrinth is real. My castle is real. But everything else in that book is fictional." She looked crestfallen for a moment, then brightened again a minute later as she asked,

"Is my sister coming for me?" Jareth shot me a look.

"I didn't tell her anything. I didn't know what you would say." I whispered to him. He nodded approvingly.

"She is running the Labyrinth for you, but she will not succeed." He said flatly to Annette. Annette frowned.

"That's what you think." she muttered rebelliously. Jareth's mouth twitched toward a smile.

"It just so happens that what I think is very important." he replied. "And I think that it is time for Haley and I to go. We have business to attend to." He looked at me. I nodded, signaling my agreement. I followed him out the door. We walked for a while, seemingly having no particular destination.

"Thank you for not telling her. I have my own way of doing things, as I'm sure you've noticed." He said after a while.

"It seemed like the right thing to do. I didn't want to do anything to interrupt your normal routine." I replied. He turned to me, his expression unreadable, though I got the distinct impression that he was frustrated.

"You really don't get it, do you? You blame yourself for everything! You worry about my routine, what you might be changing in my life. Have you ever thought that maybe I want my life changed and that's one of the reasons I granted your wish? That maybe I am very easily bored and that I want to talk to you?" He asked me. I was taken aback. I had always been a burden to everyone, always the one to ruin lives and make a perfect day a bad one. I had resigned myself to that a long time ago, and I put myself down before someone else could point out what was wrong with me. It just saved time, and I didn't have to listen to people going on about how I ruined their life. But now this guy, a king no less, that I had just met, was here defending me against myself.

"What are you saying?" I asked bluntly. Jareth sighed, and pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers.

"Must I really spell it out for you? You blame yourself for things that you can't help!" I looked at him in disbelief.

"Oh yeah? I ruin people's day by just being myself. I have-had- what, 5 friends? Everyone else hated me! Well, everyone but my mom's family… but that's not the point. I'm just one mistake after another. I could never do anything right! Even when I did things more than what I was supposed to, all anyone could tell me was that I didn't have to do that much! I could get nothing right. Still can't, apparently." I replied, shaking my head. Jareth glared at me.

"UGH! You're just determined to blame everything on yourself, aren't you?" He demanded. I glared back at him and said cheekily,

"Yes, I am!" A wry smile twisted his mouth.

"Then you better get used to being corrected every time you do so." He said mockingly, then continued, "You say that you ruin people's day by being yourself? That's wrong. They ruined their own day by letting themselves be bothered by you. I doubt you ever did anything to ruin someone's day, deliberately or not. Not everyone hated you. Most of the world didn't even know that you existed. You think everyone hated you, but as far as I know, no one hated you. They simply didn't understand you. And as I'm sure you know," He raised his eyebrows at me before continuing, "Humans feel threatened by what they don't understand. So all those kids who made your life hell did it simply for the reason that they didn't understand you, not because they hated you." I stared at him. Could it be true? It made sense, but… was it really just my step-father's view of me being worthless that I had always assumed I was? I stared at Jareth for a while longer until it sunk in.

"It's not my fault…? I really didn't do anything to deserve it all?" I asked, more to myself than to Jareth, but he answered me anyway.

"What could anyone have done to deserve what you went through, at the hands of your so-called _father_," He sneered at the use of the word father, "and at the hands of those immature beasts who considered themselves _way _more mature than you? Please, Haley. No one deserves that kind of treatment." I gave him a little smile at that. Inside I was singing. I was free, free from the fear that had haunted me for so long, that I deserved all that I had suffered, that everything they had said to me was true.

It brought to mind a line from a book I had read once. '_I keep thinking about a tale my nurse used to read to me about a bird whose wings are pinned to the ground. In the end, when he finally frees himself, he flies so high he becomes a star. My nurse said the story was about how we all have something that keeps us down. So here's what I'm wondering- if Miri's wings are free, what will she do now?_' Now that my wings were free, so to speak, what will I do, indeed?

Jareth looked at me. "Do you understand now?"

"Yes, I understand. I'm sorry for ever believing it." I answered in a happier voice. Jareth smiled, and he pushed the hair out of my face.

"You will get what you deserve here. Everything, all your dreams. No one will hurt you without being punished by me. You deserve better than that." He promised me. Then he turned away. "I have to check on the runner. Would you like to come?"

"Sure, I'll come if you'd like." I answered. He took my hand, and everything dissolved around us, then a different environment materialized. The girl was standing looking at a signpost that had hands pointing in every direction. She was grumbling to herself.

"_Humph! Send me back to the beginning? I'll show you!_" Jareth spoke from behind her.

"Oh, you will, will you?" She gasped and turned around.

"_You! Get away from me or I'll-_" Jareth broke her off.

"Or you'll what? In your position, I wouldn't be threatening me. I can make your life a living hell even beyond this Labyrinth. You lied to me."

"_What did I lie to you about?_" she demanded. I glared at her, remembering the scene in the crystal, and the words of Annette, 'She mad at me for drawing in her book.' Jareth was obviously thinking the same thing.

"Oh, let me think… You said that you were just reading from a book, when I know for a fact that isn't true. Those words need to have desire behind them, or they are just words. I saw you yelling at your sister. That doesn't seem like reading to me. And your sister said it herself, you were mad at her for drawing in your book. So yes, I know that you lied to me." He snarled at her. She glared back at him.

"_So? What are you going to do about it? Send me back to the beginning of the Labyrinth? Plunge me into the Bog of Eternal Stench? Put me in an oubliette? I'd like to see you try!_" She snapped at him defiantly. Jareth's eyes flashed dangerously. He was literally glowing with magic. I could tell that this girl had gone too far. The girl, Deseray, Annette had called her, backed away a little. I could see the fear in her eyes.

Jareth seemed to have grown, and he towered over Deseray. "You dare challenge me, mortal? I have more power in one cell than you can ever hope to have in all your life! Be gone from my sight! You will never return to Aboveground!" He shouted angrily, menacingly, and lighting flashed and thunder rumbled. All of a sudden, the girl was gone, as if she had been wiped from the face of the earth. My eyes widened as I stared at the place where she had been.

Jareth turned to look at me, and I realized that I was no longer invisible. He had turned back to his normal self, and though his eyes still smoldered with anger, he spoke calmly to me, a bit sheepish.

"I shouldn't have lost my temper like that, especially in front of you. But I _loathe_ being lied to, that girl had the gall to do just that, and then challenge me just after admitting to it. Are you starting to understand why I'm so bitter? I have to deal with these stupid mortals- sorry. You were a mortal as well. I shouldn't speak like-" I broke his apology off.

"No, you had every right to be angry. Besides, I agree with you. Mortals, at least most of the mortals I knew, are self-centered idiots who are not only arrogant, but have no respect for authority! No respect for privacy except their own, no respect for someone else's business… shall I go on?" I said. Jareth looked at me, amused.

"That's ok, I know _exactly_ what you're talking about." he said, and I started to laugh. After a minute, Jareth laughed with me, and soon the Labyrinth was echoing with the sound of our laughter. The Labyrinth rumbled around us, and I stopped laughing, wondering what was happening. Jareth stopped laughing too, and looked around warily.

Suddenly, I felt myself collapse. "Haley!" Jareth shouted, and caught me before I hit the ground. I could feel blackness creeping up on me, and I heard Jareth saying something to someone I couldn't see.

"What are you playing at?" Then I heard no more as I sunk into blackness.

**Author's note: Muah-Hahaha! I really need to stop ending on cliff-hangers, but they are soooo fun! Hahahaha! Lol. What do you think is happening to me in the story? Cyber cookie to anyone who can guess! But guessing means you have to review, so please, while you're at it, will you tell me what you think? Please? Just no flames, ok?**


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